The Orb
by Anithrarith1
Summary: A fantasy fanfic about Quinn, who finds a strange orb in her Uncle Mark's attic and gets taken to Middle Earth.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I have not created any of the Lord of the Rings characters, places, or ideas in this story and I only hold to be mine the characters I created.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
"Quinn, look out!!" Quinn ducked in time to see an arrow whiz overhead, right where her head had been. "Where'd that come from?" she asked her brown-haired friend, Leah. "O-over th-there!" Leah said pointing to a small group of hideous creatures. Orcs, Quinn thought at first, then thought No, it couldn't be. Quinn could barely see them in the darkness of the night, even though her eyes were sharp. "What are they?" she asked. Leah shrugged. "They're coming quickly. Oh Quinn, what are we going to do!?" Quinn grabbed Leah and pulled her behind a tree. Arrows went flying past them. The truth was, Quinn had no idea. They were coming, coming; they were now only a few hundred yards away. They were disgusting, with long, black hair, mutilated faces, disgusting brown teeth, and with an evil smile on their lips. Quinn thought quickly, "Get ready to run." She told her friend who was quivering with fear beside her. Quinn gripped her flashlight tightly. She waited as they gained two hundred more yards, then one hundred more, another hundred. until they were finally about 10 feet away. She turned on her flashlight and shone it in their eyes. "Run!!!" she yelled. The creatures cowered in the light, and Quinn held it steadily on them. In the corner of her eye she saw Leah running into the shelter of the dark, forbidding forest nearby. Finally the creatures turned and ran. Quinn kept the beam of light on them until they were almost out of sight, then turned and ran into the deep forest. "Leah!" she called. "Leah, where are you?" "Over here!" Leah's voice responded. "By the big oak tree!" Quinn ran blindly in the direction of her voice, and finally met her. They were both panting, so they rested in the shelter of the oak tree for a while. While they did so, Quinn took in her surroundings. The trees all around her were tall and had many branches. There was thick undergrowth, and it was dark. Really dark. The fact that the moon wasn't out didn't help that aspect at all. There were all sorts of sounds around, from various creatures, and eyes also. The eyes really creeped Quinn out. It smelled damp and musty. "This is funny. this is almost like." she began, but broke off. Even the sound of her voice was strange in the silence. "Like what?" Leah asked. "Nothing. You'd think I was crazy if I told you." Quinn responded. It seemed a lot like the description of Mirkwood in The Hobbit. But she couldn't be in Middle Earth! It didn't exist! Or did it? She shook her head. She once had a friend who had believed Star Wars was real, and that was really weird. She didn't want Leah to think her as weird as she did to her friend who believed in Star Wars. "Oh, maybe I would, but you'd probably be right. I mean, I think I'd believe anything now. Where are we, do you know?" Leah's voice snapped her out of thought. "I don't know." Quinn said truthfully. Where were they? How had they gotten here? She tried to put the puzzle together. She and Leah had just been at Uncle Mark's house.. It all came back.  
  
"Hey, Aunt Dawn, can we explore your attic?" Leah had said, Quinn nodding her head in excitement. "Sure. But take a flashlight up there or you won't be able to see." Quinn had grabbed a flashlight (little did she know it would save their lives.) and they had run up the stairs, eager for an adventure in the attic. There was lots of cool stuff up there. They had pushed up the board and climbed into the attic and looked for something interesting. Quinn remembered how dark and musty the attic had been, similar to this wood. Leah and she had opened one box and a bright light illuminated the attic. When their eyes got used to it, they looked in and saw a small, white orb, glistening and giving off light. It was on a silvery-white chain. Quinn had picked it up gently by that chain and Leah had grasped her elbow, and then Quinn's finger touched the orb.. BAM!!! There had been an explosion of white light and they had felt themselves falling, falling. falling. They had hit the ground hard and blacked out. When they woke up, later Leah said, "Quinn, look out!"  
  
So they were here now. "I wonder.." Quinn started. "Shh! Someone's coming!" Leah hissed. They dove for cover as the footsteps drew nearer and nearer.. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
Quinn and Leah barely dared to breathe. After a few long minutes of listening to the footsteps draw closer, they suddenly stopped. They sounded really close. Quinn wanted to see what it was that was so near, and she tried to move closer to the edge of the tree so she could see around. Then, a twig snapped under her foot. She gulped and looked at Leah. Leah looked pale. They heard the sound of a bowstring being pulled back. "Come out and show yourselves!" a voice said. It sounded female. Quinn made a motion for Leah to stay where she was and stepped out from behind the tree. The voice had come from a tall girl who looked about their age. She had long, golden hair. Her ears were pointed, like an. elf? "I mean you no harm." Quinn said. "My friend and I are lost. Could you kindly tell us where we are?" The girl lowered her bow, but kept her hands on it. "You are in Mirkwood." She said. "Mirkwood? But Mirkwood is just something fictitious, isn't it?" Quinn asked. There was no way this was Mirkwood, but then, with all this weird stuff going on, she couldn't be sure that it wasn't. The girl looked at her strangely. "Who are you?" she asked. "My name is Quinn. Leah, you can come out now. It's OK, I think." Leah stepped out from behind the tree. "M-my name is L-Leah." She said softly in fear. "Pleased to meet you, Quinn and Laleah." The girl said, smiling. "My name is Sówen. And yes, Mirkwood does exist." She added. Leah looked really confused. "Quinn, what happened? What's Mirkwood? I'M CONFUSED!" "Leah," Quinn said, "I have no idea how we got here, but we're in Middle Earth." Even Leah, who knew nothing about fantasy, knew what Middle Earth was. Leah's eyes grew big. "Duh!" Sówen said, obviously holding back laughter. I bet she thinks we're nuts. Quinn thought. Maybe we are! "The orb." Leah whispered. Quinn's eyes now grew big. She felt the orb in her pocket, where she had left it. She had forgotten about it when she started talking to Sówen. Sówen said, "Did I miss something?" Quinn was the first to speak. "You'll think we're crazy, but this is the truth, as far as I can understand. We either come from the future, thousands of years in the future, or another dimension. I am not sure which. We were in the dwelling of our uncle, named Mark, when we found this," she said, holding up the orb. "We don't know exactly what it is, but when I touched it, all of the sudden we were here, on Middle Earth. We ran into a bunch of Orcs, and ran in here." "I don't believe you. How did you escape the Orcs? You have no weapons." Sówen said. "You don't need to tell lies." "I used this." Quinn said, holding out the red flashlight. "What is it?" "Where we come from, we call it a flashlight. You flick up this button, and a light comes on. Do you believe me now?" she asked. Sówen took the flashlight and looked at it for a while. "You don't seem to be like a normal traveler, so I believe you for now. What are these strange garments you have on? Things from the future?" Quinn nodded. Leah finally seemed to gather up her courage and spoke. "Can you help us?" "I'll try to the best of my ability. Come with me. You will need to change your garments before anyone else sees you, and you need a new name to use here too. My brother's good at that sort of thing. Come on." Sówen started walking away. Quinn and Leah looked at each other, then followed. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
Sówen led them around for about a half an hour. The path they followed never seemed to stop, it kept winding on and on for as far as the eye can see. The path split in two near a large rowan tree. Sówen took the path next to a stream. As they walked, it broadened and became a large river. It was really very pretty, with the light from the moon (now visible away from its shroud of dark clouds) glinting off of the water. Someone could get to love this place. Quinn thought. I think I could. The moon's so beautiful.. Leah was obviously having a rough time. "Are we there yet?" she asked for the (literally) 10th time. "No." replied Sówen patiently. "But soon we will be." "Where exactly are we going?" Quinn asked. "To my home. It is a secret, known only to my family and close friends. But I am willing to show you," Sówen replied. They came to a large bank near a beautiful waterfall, and into a hole in the steep face of the cliff. Inside there was a tunnel, lit by strange white light, not a sickly yellow like the flame of a candle. One could tell that someone magical lived there. It opened into a large, roomy cavern, also lit with the mysterious white light. Sówen also appeared to be glowing. "Wow." Quinn said softly. "You live here?" Sówen nodded. "My brother lives in a similar dwelling on the other side of the cliff." "What do you call this place?" Quinn asked, "If anything.." "We call it Ithilnen. That means, moon water." Sówen said. Quinn stood, amazed at what she saw around her. "Ithilnen." she whispered. Leah, however, plopped down on the ground on the ground with her back to the wall and fell asleep. Sówen laughed softly; Quinn just shook her head in exasperation. "Leave her here." Sówen said. "Follow me, I am going to see if my brother is here." With that she disappeared through a hole in the wall. Quinn followed. She found herself in a short tunnel, very much like the entrance tunnel, which led to a large cavern like that of the one she had just left. It was empty of people, except for herself and Sówen. "Oh shoot. He must have left already. Funny how he didn't come and say 'aiya' after his long journey home.. Oh, whatever." Sówen muttered, then turned to Quinn. "If you are not too weary, will you come with me outside? I need to find my brother." She said. "I'm not tired," Quinn lied. She was a little tired, but not too tired for an adventure. Plus, how could she fall asleep when amid all this? "I'll come with you." "So they exited out of another tunnel and went back into the woods. Sówen made a strange, whistling noise, "a call we use", as Sówen said. Still, nobody came. Finally, Sówen decided that while they waited for him to arrive, Quinn should learn how to fight with a short sword (as the long ones were way too long for her!), in case she needed to fight to protect herself. Sówen gave Quinn a short sword to use while she learned. It was very light but strong. "An elfish blade, I presume?" Quinn remarked. "What else?" replied Sówen, smiling. So Quinn learned all the different swipes and strokes to use with the sword, how to stand, and so on. She really wanted to learn archery, however, and felt clumsy with a sword. But Sówen was patient and waited, so she was also. After a few minutes she wasn't so clumsy, and began to feel more confident in herself. "Very good!" Sówen said. "I fear any Orc that gets in your way!" Quinn smiled and continued to swipe the sword around her. I'm getting the hang of this! She thought. She spun around with the sword. Clang! There was another person, with his sword against hers.  
  
Author's Note: So, it's like Eowyn, get over it! :p I already put the disclaimer on here! 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
"Ahh!" Quinn shouted and stepped back in surprise.  
  
Sówen just smiled and said, "Aiya! I thought you'd never come."  
  
Quinn lowered her sword and looked carefully at the person before her. "Who are you?" she asked.  
  
"I am Sólas," he said. "Sówen's brother. And who, may I ask, are you?"  
  
Quinn looked carefully at him. He was tall, had blue-green eyes that sparkled, and blonde hair. "My name is Quinn," she said slowly. "I come from the future - I think."  
  
He looked at her like she was crazy. "I don't trust people who lie," he said. "You can tell me the truth, I won't get angry."  
  
"But it is the truth!" Quinn said. "Sówen, you can tell him so!"  
  
"Show him the flashlight," Sówen whispered.  
  
Quinn smiled. She took her flashlight out of her pocket and held it out. "This is called a flashlight where I come from," she said. "When you push this button, the light comes on, see?" she explained, demonstrating. "Now do you believe me?"  
  
Sólas took the flashlight from Quinn and held it in his hand. He turned the light on and off. One could see he was puzzled. He looked up. "Sówen, is this some kind of joke?"  
  
"No," Sówen said, and then smilingly added, "You're the joker in our family." Sólas rolled his eyes. Sówen said, "Sólas, I need you to think of an elvish name for her. She needs to blend in."  
  
"Why me?" Sólas asked.  
  
"Because you're the master of words, in almost any tongue!" Sówen said.  
  
"Alright then," Sólas said and went deep into thought. After a few minutes he said, "I have it, I think."  
  
"What is it?" Quinn asked.  
  
"Elluiel." Sólas said. "Its roots are from the Sindarin words 'el', or star, and 'luil', or blue. So it means 'blue star', literally 'star blue'. But, I thought that putting it in that order and adding an e to it made it sound better."  
  
"Elluiel," Quinn said. "That's really pretty!"  
  
Sówen smiled. "I told you he'd think of a good name for you," she said.  
  
"Let's go inside," Sólas said. "I haven't been home for months!"  
  
So, they went back inside the cliff through the tunnel. Leah was sound asleep, but they decided to talk a while on Sówen's side.  
  
"So, if you're from the future," Sólas said, "How did you get here?"  
  
"I think I was transported here by this magical white orb that I found in my uncle's attic," Quinn said.  
  
Sólas furrowed his brow. "What?" he asked. "Do you still have it?"  
  
"Yeah," Quinn said. She took the orb out of her pocket and showed it to him. "When I touched it, I was transported here. Leah was clinging onto my elbow, so I guess it brought her too."  
  
Sólas's eyes snapped open when he saw the orb. "Sówen. do you know what this is?" 


End file.
